Cooler UK weather chills retail sales in June

By Suban Abdulla

LONDON (Reuters) -British retail sales volumes fell by more than expected in June, after unseasonably cooler weather put off shoppers, official figures showed on Friday.

Sales volumes dropped by 1.2% last month after a 2.9% jump in May, the Office for National Statistics said.

A Reuters poll of economists had on average forecast sales volumes would drop by 0.4% on the month.

While wages are now rising more quickly than inflation, British shoppers have been squeezed by high inflation over the past two years. It has slowed recently and held at the Bank of England's 2% target last month.

However, underlying inflation pressures have diminished hopes among investors for an interest rate cut on Aug. 1, the date of the BoE's next scheduled monetary policy announcement.

Lisa Hooker, PWC's leader of industry for consumer markets, said, shoppers were still reluctant to spend despite the fall in inflation, wage increases and lower social security contributions.

"It appears that the cooler, wetter weather over spring and early summer, combined with longer term uncertainty in the period prior to the general election, has discouraged shoppers from both buying seasonal goods and making longer-term big ticket purchases," Hooker said.

Britain held a parliamentary election on July 4 that was won by the centre-left Labour Party.

Friday's figures showed that over the 12 months to June 2024, volumes fell by 0.2% and were 1.3% below their pre-pandemic level in February 2020.

Recent reports from retailers have also shown the impact of June's poor weather on discretionary spending.

Sainsbury's, Britain's second biggest supermarket group, said weather-related weakness in non-food categories partially offset robust demand for groceries. But, electricals retailer Currys said the macro environment was improving.

The ONS said sales volumes fell across most sectors, except for automotive fuels with the strongest drop seen in categories more sensitive to weather changes such as clothing.

It said there was no impact on sales in June from Euro 2024, though that might become more evident in the data for July which is when England reached the final of the soccer tournament.

A separate survey, published on Friday, showed consumer sentiment in Britain inched up in July to its highest level since September 2021.

(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by William Schomberg)